One person is dead after 200 bullets were fired into a cafe in Copenhagen in what some are claiming is an attack on the life of a controversial Swedish cartoonist who drew the Prophet Mohammed as a dog.
A man, aged 40 and described as 'a civilian', was killed after the Krudttoenden cafe was sprayed with bullets as it held an event to discuss freedom of speech.
It is thought three other people, said to be police officers, were injured in the attack, which one organiser has claimed is a deliberate attempt on the life of Lars Vilks, the controversial Swedish cartoonist talking at the event.
The attack is thought to have been carried out by two people, who remain on the run after fleeing the scene in a car.
The cafe had been hosting a debate on freedom of speech titled Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression, featuring a number of controversial speakers.
Vilks, a Swedish artist known for his provocative drawings of the Prophet Mohammed, has faced several attempted attacks and death threats after he depicted the Prophet as a dog in 2007.
As a result, he is guarded by police any time he visits Denmark.
However, Helle Merete Brix, one of the organisers of the event, said Vilks, 68, had not been injured.
'I saw a masked man running past,' she said. 'A couple of police officers were injured.'
'I clearly consider this as an attack on Lars Vilks,' she added, saying she was ushered away with Vilks by one of the Danish police guards.
French campaigner Inna Shevchenko, leader of Ukrainian feminist group FEMEN, was also taking part.
Ms Shevchenko is known for her nude protests, which have taken place in both churches and mosques.
London-based Agnieszka Kolek was the third speaker at the event. She organises the Passion for Freedom Art Festival each year.
According to the cafe's Facebook event, they were debating the a number of points around freedom of expression, including where the limit is and do people have a right to blasphemous.
The French ambassador Francois Zimeray was also present at the meeting, but has tweeted to say he is okay.
He has since given a dramatic account of the attack.
'They fired on us from the outside,' he said.
'It was the same intention as (the January 7 attack on) Charlie Hebdo except they didn't manage to get in.
'Intuitively I would say there were at least 50 gunshots, and the police here are saying 200.
'Bullets went through the doors and everyone threw themselves to the floor. We managed to flee the room, and now we're staying inside because it's still dangerous.
'The attackers haven't been caught and they could very well still be in the neighbourhood.'
Local television reports the window of the popular cafe, known for its jazz concerts, was riddled with about 30 bullet holes.
It was a Danish paper which first found itself in serious trouble for printing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005, causing several attacks on Danish embassies in the Middle East.#
French president Francois Hollande said in a statement several people may have been wounded and that Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve would go to Copenhagen as soon as possible.
Hollande expressed his solidarity to Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, he said.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned what he called a 'terrorist attack' in a separate statement.
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